US Supreme Court deals blow to Trump's mail-in voting restrictions

On Monday, the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's efforts to limit mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections, dismissing his request to overturn a ruling that halted the plan. Justices Brett Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion with the majority, stated that while Trump's plan may ultimately be legal in the long run, state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer termed the president's plan to make it harder to vote as "obviously unconstitutional," while House Representative Hakeem Jeffries referred to it as "the diabolical scheme to restrict mail-in ballots." Several states, including North Carolina, had already begun sending out mail-in ballots to voters following the Supreme Court's decision.

Trump initiated the executive order in March, alleging without evidence that mail-in voting is susceptible to fraud. The order triggered multiple legal challenges from Democratic-led states, arguing that under the US Constitution, states - not the federal government - hold broad control over election administration. The American Civil Liberties Union hailed the Supreme Court's decision as a "major win for voting rights, election integrity, and democracy," emphasizing that the White House does not run elections, nor does the Postal Service decide whose ballot counts.

Officials from several states had warned that the lack of legal clarity around Trump's plan was causing chaos months before the November vote, with a USPS whistleblower also expressing concern about millions of Americans potentially not receiving their ballots due to a "sloppy and rushed" postal system. Despite consistently claiming without evidence that mail-in voting is vulnerable to fraud, Trump has used mail-in ballots himself, including when he voted by mail in Florida's Republican primary earlier this year.

The president's Republican Party faces significant challenges in retaining its narrow control of Congress in November, particularly in the House of Representatives.